Sunday, May 2, 2010

Hell on Earth


Hellish conditions today made racing very tough. It was 95 in Philly yesterday and by 8:30am this morning the temperature hovered around 70-75...but the humidity made things brutal.

I went out conservatively and started walking down guys who went out too fast even in the early miles. I hit mile 3 in 15:18 and knew it wasn't going to be a PR day (which was why I was here). 25:55 at mile 5 after some 5:18s got my mind thinking about dropping out. I was picking off guys, but what was the point? I could A - grind through and run 1-2 minutes slower than my PR/goal time or B - shut it down. I opted for B and stepped off the course at mile 7. I ran back and found Wiggy and Dix then ran the last 3 miles with them and actually began to enjoy the race. I cruised in with the women's winner and ran around 55:00.

This is the first race in my 15+ years of running that I've dropped out of, but I have no regrets. I've had a great season.

More later...

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

You didn't actually "drop out". You still finished, and that's what counts. You made a smart decision. You'll get em' next time.

Anonymous said...

Everyone had the same conditions. A race is still a race...even if you don't hit your expected splits. Looking at the weather before deciding to participate might have saved you the trouble.

Joe Wiggy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joe Wiggy said...

Great job this spring Jake. You went on a tear... PRing left and right. I look forward to the summer training season with you.

Message to Anonymous #2: Don't hide if you are going to say jackass remarks... That was a ridiculous statement. If it is on your schedule (especially as the last show down), you race... what do you have to lose.

KLIM said...

Anonymous - this is true if I was racing for a W or a good place (like a team race or an xc race) but Broad Street was on my schedule because it is a fast course where one can run a fast time. Conditions made a fast time (my objective) impossible and I did not know that until mid-way through the race...at which point I shut it down.

Thanks Wiggy.

Ben said...

Friends don't let friends post anonymously. Klim - you've put in some great performances this spring - nothing to be worried about. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do this summer/fall. I like the plan you guys have put together so far. One suggested workout that I didn't see is a long run, 20-22 miles, with 8 miles of tempo. Something like 2 miles easy 4X1 mi tempo with 1 min rest 8 miles easy 4X1 mi tempo with 1 min rest 2 mi easy. Daniels book has a few examples of workouts like that.

KLIM said...

Thanks Ben. The Chicago plan is still a work in progress so we'll look into that.